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Author: Dave Riggert

Missouri women bounce back with big win over Georgia 61-35

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COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women’s Basketball picked up its 15th win of the season, beating Georgia, 61-35, at Mizzou Arena Thursday night. The Tiger defense was dominant all night long, holding Georgia to just 35 points, the lowest total ever allowed by Mizzou in conference play.  It was also the lowest point total for the Bulldogs since they were held to 26 back in the 2014-15 season by Auburn. The Tigers now move to 4-1 in SEC play with the win.

Senior guard Sophie Cunningham (Columbia, Mo.) was fantastic again for the Tigers, scoring 23 points while grabbing eight rebounds and snagging five steals, leading the team in all three categories. Junior forward Amber Smith (Shreveport, La.) and freshman guard Akira Levy (Baxter, Tenn.) also had quality outings against Georgia, as Smith went for nine points and five boards, while Levy racked up seven points and five assists.

TURNING POINT

The Tigers and Bulldogs both struggled to score in the early going, as the team’s only combined for nine points midway through the first period. Then, Mizzou turned it on, going on a 21-8 run that spanned the second half of the first period and all of the second quarter.

Cunningham, Smith and redshirt freshman guard Haley Troup (Gadsden, Ala.) led the charge during the game-changing run, as the trio combined for 20 of the Tigers’ 25 first half points. The run was highlighted by a late shot clock heave from Troup that dropped in from about 35 feet and by Cunningham’s layup at the first half buzzer that stretched the lead to 12 going into the intermission.

TOP TIGERS

  • Cunningham finished the game with 23 points, eight rebounds and a career-high five steals. It was Cunningham’s seventh 20-point game of the season, and her seventh game of 18+ points in the last 11 games.
  • Senior forward Cierra Porter (Columbia, Mo.) continues her upward trajectory since returning to the court, scoring eight points, while grabbing five rebounds.
  • Smith put up another balanced line, going for nine points, five rebounds three assists and a steal.
  • Levy scored seven points and recorded a season-high five assists.

NOTES

  • Mizzou held Georgia to 35 points, the fewest points ever scored against Mizzou in a conference game.
  • It was the fewest points allowed by the Tigers since Nebraska scored 35 during the 2016-17 season (11/14/16).
  • Those 35 points were also the Bulldogs’ lowest total since they were held to just 26 against Auburn during the 2014-15 season (2/22/15).
  • Mizzou had 15 assists against Georgia, the 10th time this season the Tigers have registered at least 15 helpers.
  • Cunningham dropped 20 points for the 40th time in her career against Georgia.
  • Cunningham registered 23 points and eight rebounds, her sixth performance this season with at least 20+ points and 5+ rebounds.
  • Cunningham also snatched five steals, a new career-high.
  • With her 23 points, eight rebounds and five steals, Cunningham is just the third Tiger in the last 21 seasons to record such a stat line, joining Jordan Frericks (27 points, 17 rebounds, six steals at Bradley, 12-6-14) and Christine Flores (25 points, 14 rebounds, five steals vs. Eastern Illinois, 12-7-11).
  • Levy had five assists in the game, the most in her young career.

UP NEXT

Mizzou next travels to Columbia, S.C., where they will take on the Gamecocks at on Monday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is set to tip at 6 p.m.

— Mizzou Athletics —

Nebraska’s upset bid comes up short against No. 6 Michigan State 70-64

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Cassius Winston scored a career-high 29 points, Nick Ward added 15 and sixth-ranked Michigan State pulled away from Nebraska late for a 70-64 win Thursday night.

Michigan State (16-2, 7-0) relied on tough defense to extend its school-record Big Ten winning streak to 19 games. The Cornhuskers (13-5, 3-4) had their school-record 20-game home win streak end.

The Spartans led by 12 points in the final 2 minutes, but Nebraska cut the lead to four twice before Matt McQuaid made a pair of free throws for his first points with 14.2 seconds to put the game away.

Nebraska shot a season-low 32.8 percent and was just 5 of 26 on 3-pointers, 1 of 12 in the second half.

James Palmer, who led Nebraska with 24 points, struggled mightily from the field, going 6 of 21, but he made all 11 of his free throws. Isaac Copeland added 13 for the Huskers.

Winston scored eight of the Spartans’ first 18 field goals and assisted on five others, but his teammates were the ones who finally created some separation.

Aaron Henry hit a 3-pointer, Kenny Goins scored off Ward’s great entry pass and Henry had a lay-in to finish a 7-0 spurt that gave Michigan State its biggest lead of the game to that point, 51-44.

Nebraska got it back to three points, but Ward’s layin and Winston’s 3-pointer made it 56-48.

The Huskers came out with the intent to slow the pace and were mostly successful.

Michigan State closed the half on an 11-2 run to lead 33-28 at the break. The Huskers, who trailed at halftime for the first time in 10 home games, shot just 28.6 percent and had only one field goal in the last 4:47.

BIG PICTURE

Michigan State: This was a gut-check win for the Spartans, who were without Joshua Langford (ankle) for a fifth straight game and Kyle Ahrens (back) for a second in a row.

Nebraska: The Huskers were feeling pretty good about themselves after an impressive win at No. 25 Indiana on Monday, and they had an amped standing-room crowd on hand for the Spartans’ visit. But they had no answer going against the nation’s No. 3 team in field-goal defense.

UP NEXT

Michigan State hosts No. 19 Maryland on Monday.

Nebraska visits Rutgers on Monday.

— Associated Press —

Mizzou stays winless in the SEC with home loss to Alabama

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Avery Johnson Jr. scored 14 points to lead Alabama to a 70-60 road victory over Missouri on Wednesday.

Johnson — the son of Crimson Tide head coach Avery Johnson — shattered his season high of four points. Johnson shot 5-for-10 from the field and compiled his highest points total since his career-high 23-point performance against South Carolina in February of 2017.

Alabama (11-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) took early control of the rebounding battle, and outrebounded the Tigers 37-29. The Crimson Tide has now outrebounded opponents in 15 of its 16 games this season.

Donta Hall scored 12 points and hauled in 11 boards, good for the senior forward’s fifth double-double performance in his past six games. Hall leads SEC players with eight double-doubles this season.

Mark Smith and Javon Pickett each added 13 points to lead Missouri (9-6, 0-3) in scoring. Smith — who entered the game shooting an SEC-leading 47.3 percent from 3 — drilled four of nine 3-point attempts. The Tigers also came into the contest leading the SEC shooting 39.4 percent from beyond the arc. They converted seven of 20 3-point tries.

Missouri’s reliable weapon Jordan Geist scored just nine points on 4-for-11 shooting, including 0-for-5 from 3.

BIG PICTURE

Alabama: After a second-half collapse against Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide picked up a much-needed road victory ahead of a difficult stretch in its schedule. Alabama needed a pick-me-up ahead of its next two matchups, which come against No. 3 Tennessee and No. 18 Mississippi.

Missouri: The Tigers have now lost three in a row following a promising six-game winning streak. This was a game Missouri really needed, as it now hits the road in conference play.

UP NEXT

Alabama stays on the road to play (No. 3) Tennessee on Saturday.

Missouri kicks off a two-game road trip Saturday against Texas A&M.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State beats No. 20 Oklahoma for second straight Top 25 road win

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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kansas State guard Barry Brown didn’t need any last-minute heroics this time.

After hitting game-winners in the final minute of the Wildcats’ previous two games, he helped Kansas State control Oklahoma from start to finish. Brown scored 25 points as Kansas State beat the 20th-ranked Sooners 74-61 on Wednesday night.

Brown, coming off his first Big 12 player of the week honor, is averaging 25.7 points during the Wildcats’ three-game win streak.

“Obviously, Barry’s playing at a really high level,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “But I love that he had five assists. That means at least he’s seeing some other things.”

Dean Wade added 20 points in his second game back since missing six in a row with a torn tendon in his right foot. It was Kansas State’s second straight road win over a ranked team — the Wildcats won at Iowa State last Saturday.

Kansas State (13-4, 3-2 Big 12) shot 50 percent from the field against an Oklahoma squad that was holding opponents to 37.7 percent, good for ninth nationally.

“Sometimes you line up and just get whipped,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “We did that tonight. Kansas State whipped us. They kind of got us down a little bit and they kept working. We just couldn’t overcome that. We have to figure out a way to keep that from happening. But they whipped us tonight for sure.”

Christian James scored 20 points and Rashard Odomes added a season-high 17 for Oklahoma (13-4, 2-3). It was the Sooners’ first home defeat and their first loss to an unranked team this season.

Kansas State ran out to an 8-0 lead as Oklahoma went scoreless for more than three minutes to start the game. The Wildcats stretched their advantage to 20-7 before the Sooners found their footing. James hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to cut Kansas State’s lead to 30-24.

The Wildcats kept the Sooners at bay, and an emphatic two-handed dunk by Wade with just over two minutes to play put the Wildcats up 71-56.

Kansas State forced Oklahoma into 16 turnovers and one of its lowest-scoring outputs of the season.

“I think our main priority as a team is defense,” Wade said. “It’s where we hang our hat. We’re a great defensive team.”

Oklahoma’s giveaways sabotaged a 47 percent shooting effort.

“I thought we were careless with the ball in the first half, especially,” Kruger said. “Drove into some gaps that were crowded and didn’t make very good decisions.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats are starting to look like the team that was ranked No. 12 in the preseason. With Brown and Wade clicking, they are gaining momentum. The two road wins early in Big 12 play put them in an ideal position to challenge for a spot near the top of the league standings.

Oklahoma: The Sooners got just 14 minutes from starting center Jamuni McNeace, who is still struggling after coming back from an ankle injury. He did not score and had only two rebounds. The Sooners could benefit from more production from him heading into games at Texas and Oklahoma State.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Kansas State, which was 33rd in votes in the AP Top 25 this week, positioned itself for a potential spot in the rankings pending Saturday’s game against TCU, which dropped out of the poll this week after losing to Oklahoma last Saturday. Oklahoma might lose its spot in the Top 25 after this home loss to an unranked opponent.

HE SAID IT

Weber, on Brown and Wade: “They’re seniors. They’ve been through it. They make you good coaches. They know what to look for.”

MILESTONE

James surpassed 1,000 points in his Oklahoma career.

UP NEXT

Kansas State hosts TCU on Saturday.

Oklahoma plays at Texas on Saturday.

— Associated Press —

Missouri State comes up short at home against Evansville

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — K.J. Riley scored 16 points and Evan Kuhlman hit a key 3-pointer late to help Evansville beat Missouri State 70-64 on Wednesday night.

Evansville (9-9, 3-2 Missouri Valley Conference) has won eight of the last 10 against Missouri State (8-10, 2-3).

John Hall made a 3-pointer and Dainius Chatkevicius two free throws, and Devan Straub’s 3 capped an 8-0 surge to give the Purple Aces a 60-56 lead with 3:32 remaining. Jarred Dixon hit a jumper to pull the Bears to 60-58 before Kuhlman answered with another 3-pointer to make it 63-58 lead with 1:08 left.

Riley made 3 of 4 free throws and Shamar Givance added four more from the line to seal it.

Riley was 5-of-10 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Hall added 11 points and Shea Feehan had 10. Kuhlman finished with five points.

Tulio Da Silva and Keandre Cook each scored 14 points to lead Missouri State. Da Silva grabbed 13 rebounds for his second straight double-double.

— Associated Press —

Goth scores 20, Carr 19, K-State women upset No. 11 Texas

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MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kayla Goth had 20 points and tied her career-high with 12 assists and Kansas State used a big first half to defeat No. 11 Texas 87-69 on Wednesday night.

Christianna Carr added 19 on points 7-of-10 shooting, including four 3-pointers, for the Wildcats (11-6, 2/3 Big 12). Peyton Williams had 18 points with eight rebounds. Goth’s 12 assists were a conference high this season.

Williams had back-to-back 3-pointers in a 10-0 run and added a third in the first quarter as K-State jumped to a 23-13 lead. Carr scored four in a 6-0 burst to start the second quarter and Williams scored the last four before the half for a 42-23 lead.

Kansas State was 6 of 13 from distance and shot 50 percent overall. The Longhorns shot 35 percent and had 10 turnovers.

The lead remained in double figures throughout the second half when the Longhorns shot 52 percent but the Wildcats shot 58 percent. K-State finished 11 of 19 from distance (58 percent), shot 54 percent overall and was 16 of 18 from the foul line.

Sug Sutton had 22 points for Texas (14-3, 4-1), which had won seven straight and seven straight over KSU. Danni Williams added 18.

— Associated Press —

Kansas women lose to No. 2 Baylor 94-68

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Chloe Jackson scored a season-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting and had eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals to lead No. 2 Baylor to a 94-68 win over Kansas on Wednesday night.

Kalani Brown added 15 points, DiDi Richards 14 and Lauren Cox and NaLyssa Smith had 13 apiece for the Bears (14-1, 4-0 Big 12). With Texas losing at Kansas State, Baylor took over sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

Baylor was 13 of 16 from the field in the first quarter, racing to a 29-15 lead, and was 9 of 13 in the second to make it 53-36 at the half. With Jackson, Richards and Smith combining to go 15 for 15 from the field for 32 points, the Bears set a record for the most points at the half of a conference game. Richards scored 10 of the first 15 points on five backdoor layups.

Kansas kept it relatively close through three quarters by going 13 of 22 from 3-point range but the Jayhawks (11-4, 1-3) cooled off to go 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter. The last 3 was a school-record 14th, which doubled their season average.

Jessica Washington tied a school record with six 3-pointers for 18 points and Kylee Kopatich had five for 17, combining to go 11 of 16 from distance for Kansas.

— Associated Press —

Court at MWSU Fieldhouse to be named in honor of Tom Smith

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ST. JOSEPH – In a telephone poll Tuesday afternoon, the Board of Governors at Missouri Western State University approved the naming of the playing surface in the MWSU Fieldhouse after Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Tom Smith. Effective Feb. 16, the floor will be named Tom Smith Court.

The court naming will officially be unveiled in the Griffons’ regular season home finale on Saturday, Feb. 16 against Central Missouri. A ceremony will take place at halftime of the men’s game that afternoon with an open reception taking place after the men’s game. Fans in attendance that afternoon will receive a memento commemorating the occasion.

Smith roamed the sidelines as the head coach of the Griffons from 1988-2013, retiring as the winningest head men’s basketball coach in MIAA history with 519 wins as an MIAA coach and 618 total coaching victories. In 25 seasons at MWSU, Smith went 448-279 with a 241-181 mark in MIAA games. Smith won five regular season MIAA championships and four MIAA postseason championships, including leading Missouri Western to a sweep of both association titles in Missouri Western’s inaugural season in the MIAA, 1989-90. During Smith’s tenure, Missouri Western qualified for the NCAA Division II Regional Championships 11 times. He was named MIAA Coach of the Year twice at Missouri Western and once at Central Missouri and coached 51 All-MIAA selections, six All-Region picks and three NCAA All-Americans.

Smith was inducted into the Missouri Western Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006 and is also a member of the MIAA Hall of Fame, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and the Valparaiso Athletics Hall of Fame.

Prior to becoming head coach at Missouri Western, Smith also had stints as head coach at Valparaiso and Central Missouri. After retiring as head men’s basketball coach following the 2012-13 season, Smith also led the MWSU women’s tennis program for one year from 2013-14. His wife, Patsy, was a longtime head women’s tennis coach and administrator at Missouri Western, retiring in 2014.

— MWSU Athletics —

Chiefs activate Duvernay-Tardif ahead of AFC title game

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid typically begins his postgame news conferences with a rundown of injuries, ranging from the run-of-the-mill bumps and bruises to the more serious stuff that keeps players out awhile.

After Kansas City routed the Indianapolis Colts last weekend to reach its first AFC title game in 25 years, Reid stepped to the podium and said, well, not much of anything.

”We really didn’t get anyone injured,” he admitted. ”Everyone, knock on wood, came out OK.”

In truth, the only teams healthier than the Chiefs at this juncture of the season have been done playing for weeks. Even guys that have been out of the lineup for a while, such as wide receiver Sammy Watkins, are back to full speed ahead of Sunday’s game against New England.

The Chiefs are so well off right now that they just activated another starter, offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, off injured reserve on Tuesday. He’d been out since Week 5 with a broken leg and has been practicing since Dec. 26, and now could be available against the Patriots.

Whether he starts remains to be seen; Andrew Wylie has played quite well in his place.

Regardless, the simple fact that the Chiefs’ best run blocker will be back on the sideline provides additional depth up front, and gives their high-powered offense even more confidence.

The Chiefs waived veteran safety Ron Parker in a corresponding roster move.

Watkins missed about six weeks with a foot injury, and the Chiefs’ offense seemed to be a beat off without their No. 2 wide receiver.

But he finally returned against the Colts and caught six passes for 62 yards while drawing some of the attention off Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, who both had monster games against what had been a stingy Indianapolis defense down the stretch.

”I’m just thankful for the organization, the trainers, my coaches, for the six weeks getting me prepared to play this game and all week just getting me mentally prepared,” said Watkins, who signed a $36 million, three-year contract in the offseason to provide just what he did Saturday.

”Just being on the field was great,” he said, ”giving those guys energy.”

Reid said that Watkins appeared to come out of the game in good shape, and that he wasn’t worried about the speedster aggravating his foot injury before their showdown with the Patriots.

”I think he’s doing OK. He felt good after the game. He felt pretty good yesterday,” Reid said. ”He is sore just from playing, but the foot feels good.”

If only the same could be said of Eric Berry’s foot.

The one injury issue that has lingered for the Chiefs all season, and right into the playoffs, has been the painful heel of their star safety. Berry tore his Achilles’ tendon and missed nearly all of last season, and the heel began to cause him problems again in training camp. He tried to play late in the season, but was shut down again ahead of Week 17 and did not play against the Colts.

The Chiefs’ emotional leader, not to mention a three-time All-Pro, Berry remains one of the biggest wildcards for Kansas City as it prepares to host the AFC title game for the first time.

”We have had great communication through the process and most important that when he can play, he can protect himself and play at the level he wants to play at,” Reid said.

”He didn’t feel like he was at that level (Saturday), which he has been great with communicating. If he can go, he can go. If he can’t, he can’t. I’m proud of the guys that stepped in and played and played at such a high level.”

The Chiefs signed Parker in part to fill Berry’s spot, and he had started most of the season with mixed results. He was finally benched with two games left in favor of Jordan Lucas, who has flourished in his newfound starting role to the point that Parker became expendable.

Whether his release is another sign that Berry could play Sunday is an intriguing question.

Reid remained noncommittal on Monday and the Chiefs were off Tuesday, so the first chance for Berry to test out his bum heel will come during Wednesday afternoon’s practice.

The first injury report of the week will also come out Wednesday.

Berry’s name notwithstanding, it ought to be a pretty clean one for the Kansas City Chiefs.

— Associated Press —

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